Good Intentions
by invertedtorch
Summary: Chloe Price is overjoyed when she is invited to the birthday party of popular girl Rachel Amber. Although the saying goes to not look a gift horse in the mouth- things are not always as they seem.
1. Chapter 1

Good Intentions:

A life is strange fanfiction

 **Disclaimer:** **Hello! This is just a little note to make readers aware that I do not own these characters, I do not own the setting, I don't own their background stories. I am in no way affiliated with the game this is based on- Life is you haven't played this game, I highly recommend it if you enjoy immersive choose-your-own adventure games. I don't make money off of these fanfics and they are purely for enjoyment.**

The gaggle of high school girls that hung out by the volleyball net was nothing new to Blackwell Academy's 4th-period gym class.

It was a trio composed of lip-glossed juniors; all wearing slightly rolled gym shorts and their hair up high on their heads. Unless they were on their phones, they were seen chatting away between popping bubblegum and dodging the occasional stray volleyball.

One of the girls, April Jordan, shifted her weight to one foot with one of her braids weaved through her fingers.

"I'm thinking about writing a new collection. There's been a lot going on and I could use the stuff for actual, good material."

Aimee Kent weighed in, reaching down to pull the tongue of her sneaker to a straighter position.

"Your last book was so sad! You definitely need something happier."

Almost as though the three had an unspoken tendency to take turns remarking upon one another, the two turned to the last girl.

The blonde crossed her arms.

"Poems are supposed to be sad. Or angry, or, even, yeah, stupidly happy. It's about molding words into stories or analogies that make a person feel something."

She spoke with a sense of conviction, her words concise and her mannerism thoughtful in the delivery of her response. Rachel Amber was good at that; along with science, theater, and convincing the school cafeteria that she needed fresh items due to an (alleged) allergy.

The gravitational pull she gave out was not lost. There was something exciting about a person who seemingly soaked in all of what most would consider being almost perfect.

Even those who preferred to keep people at an arm's length could feel the magnetic presence of Rachel.

Chloe Price was seated not far from the three, an open sketchpad across her thighs. She had the end of her pencil in her mouth, gnawing gently in thought. Guitar riffs wafted from the headphones that hung around her neck. Her gym teacher told her that she couldn't wear headphones over her ears because it was dangerous in the sense that if a ball was whipped at her head, she would not hear any warnings.

The teenager figured that a) the headphones weren't actually _'on'_ if worn around her neck, and b) music or no music, she had taken many volley, basket, and rubber balls to the face, so, it did not seem to matter whether the last thing she could hear was Kurt Cobain vocals.

Chloe carefully shaded in some of what would be the shadow of the signature she had created. Always a master of tagging- bathroom stalls, trains, old buildings, people's faces when they were passed out drunk- she grew tired of her simple scribbles and juvenile dick drawings.

This time, she was opting for a signature that would not give away her identity but would at the same time identify it as her work. She wanted people to see it and say,

 _'that was the Arcadia Bay Tagger!'_

The thought caused a smile to form on Chloe's lips, and the movement of her pencil intensified with her shading.

'your birthday is this weekend, Rach!'

Chloe looked up from her sketchpad, Rachel Amber's nickname successfully pulling her from her state of drawing hypnosis.

Blue eyes scanned over the teen's blonde hair, the back of her neck, and, well, she was checking out her ass. She was grateful that she didn't get boners as guys did or else she would never get to steal glances so effortlessly. She, of course, was polite enough to tear her gaze away and to continue sketching. The thought that Rachel's birthday was coming up was intriguing to Chloe and she found herself listening to learn more.

She couldn't make out much due to the echoing sounds of volleyballs hitting the floor or the walls and people shouting and whistles occasionally being blown.

Chloe turned the music on her phone off to avoid adding any further complications to hearing the conversation, and her ears were able to filter out:

'aw, Rachel! C'mon. That's lame.'

Rachel responded Chloe knew her voice. But what she said was lost to her _because_ -

a sudden _SMACK_ , accompanied by a pain that spread over her entire face caused her to drop her sketch pad and instinctively cover her face with her hands.

"OW! What the fuck?!" Chloe dropped her hands, the gym lights pouring into her eyes and causing them to burn. She knew she should sit down, but. She rarely did the things she should do. She could see through squinted eyes that the ball must have come from Andrew North who headed the football team and one of the top names on Chloe's shit list, and, Elliot Hampden, someone she copied biology notes off of and who filled Chloe's phone with texts that she sometimes forgot to answer.

Drew laughed. "My bad, Chloe! Maybe you should actually do, yanno, _gym_ things during gym class instead of that tortured artist stuff."

Elliot's face was twisted in concern, his brows furrowed. "My bad, Chloe! Volleyball isn't really my sport."

" _Nothing_ is your sport, dude," Drew retorted with a snort.

"Cool, _ladies_ , I don't care. Watch where you throw that damn thing," Chloe rubbed the side of her head, then reached below her bleacher seat to grope for her pencil. She couldn't feel it anywhere.

Elliot cocked his head slightly, "did you lose something, Chloe?"

"My pencil," she groaned in mild frustration.

"At least it's just a pencil," Drew said with a shrug.

Chloe sighed heavily. "Gee, thanks, Drew. Not really the point, though. Whatever."

A slight pain behind her eyes from the impact caused Chloe to touch her fingers to her temple with a wince.

"Chloe, be careful! You got hit in the head, you could be concussed or something. We should get you to the nurse-" Elliot reached out and took a hold of Chloe's arm.

Chloe pulled her arm away from him, the frown that followed causing her to wince more from the pain it produced.

"Elliot, seriously, I'm fine. This Douche doesn't throw THAT hard."

Drew stuck his middle finger up at Chloe, who returned the gesture with both hands.

The brunette looked pained from her perceived rejection of his kindness, and his words turned into more of a mumble.

"I guess. You should really get it checked out, Chloe."

Chloe waved him off without another word, tucking her sketchbook beneath her arm as she trailed off for the gym's double doors.

"She's probably going to go hang out with that Chad guy from Costa Rica," Elliot scowled.

"The new guy with the brown skin that can bench close to 200 pounds? Shit, I would too. Don't worry, though, I don't think anyone with actual amibition is that girl's type," Drew replied.

Chloe careened the halls, her headphones over her ears. Even if it didn't help her volleyball-induced-headache, she would rather listen to rock over the chaos of the hallway. It was especially busy given the gallery of digital art that was taking place outside of the Art Appreciation classroom. Although this normally piqued her interest, she was at this point just ready to go back to the junkyard and abandon the constant reminders of how much she hated her school and her current life.

A hand took her shoulder and she quickly spun around, pulling her headphones from over her ears.

"What?!" She snapped.

It was none other than Rachel Amber.

The blonde smiled kindly, "Sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out."

She raised up her hand. Rachel found her pencil!

"I saw it on the floor. It probably rolled off the seat after the ball hit you."

Chloe accepted the pencil, her eyes widening and her tone much softer.

"Uhh, thanks." She tucked the pencil away into one of her pockets, setting it alongside the tin case she had of colored pencils. "Sorry for, uh, biting your head off. I thought you were someone else."

"It's okay. I would sure hate to be them, you've got a knack for sounding scary when you want to," Rachel chortled with a playful glint in her eyes.

Chloe shrugged some, her cheeks flushed.

Rachel tried again, pointing at Chloe's pants with a polished finger.

"Wow, you have deep pockets. Is that a whole tin of colored pencils you fit in one?"

Chloe raised her brows some, a little confused by the observation.

"Uhh, yeah. Pants. With pockets, you know. Crazy concept, I guess," The blue-haired girl stretched open the acknowledged pocket. "My messenger bag ripped and I used to carry my pencils in there. So, yeah. I keep them in pockets now."

Rachel giggled, a wind-chime like noise that made Chloe's cheek flush travel to her ears.

"I just mean that the pants I buy either have fake pockets or, well, crap ones. Where do you get your pants?"

Chloe avoided Rachel's gaze for a split second- however _green_ , however _piercing_ \- and wondered if she should even tell her the truth.

"Some of these are pants that I took from my dad's closet. I am smaller around the waist so I have to keep them up with my belt, but, my shirt usually covers it. I like them because the pockets are super deep. I don't- carry purses or anything, so."

Rachel giggled again.

Chloe's blush intensified, her defenses rising slightly. "What? You asked me. Did I say something weird?"

"Doesn't really answer my question," The blonde responded, closing in on Chloe's space a little more. "Where does _he_ get them?"

Chloe thought for a moment. It was difficult to think when some cute stranger was dangerously close.

"I don't really know. I was never with him on days he decided to go buy pants."

Rachel's previous giggles were replaced with full-bellied laughter. She straightened her posture again, wiping a small tear from her eye.

"You're too cute, Chloe."

Chloe felt her nerves grating and hugged her sketchbook a little closer to her side. She needed some sort of shield from herself and the girl who kept laughing at her.

"Um. I don't know about that. But, thanks," a fresh shade of red bloomed over her cheeks. Chloe figured at least she could blame the volleyball if Rachel noticed her blushing.

The other girl stepped closer to Chloe, the further invasion of her space coming with a cloud of what smelled like vanilla and roses. She reached a hand up to the side of Chloe's face, slender fingers weaving around a stray lock of blue hair.

"I like your look. Everyone here is so boring."

Chloe became still, finding breathing to be nearly impossible until Rachel released her hair.

"Thanks. I was just going crazy with the same old shit. So, blue it is." Chloe shrugged.

Rachel beamed, "cool."

She appeared flustered then, averting her eyes.

"What is it?" Chloe pressed gently, wondering what a girl like Rachel Amber could be nervous about. Though, she felt it was nice that the other was nervous for a change and not just her.

"I'm having a party. This weekend. I only invited a few friends, so, please keep it under wraps, but..." She reached out and took Chloe's hand, using her free hand to grab Chloe's official tagging marker that had been poking out of one of her pockets.

Chloe stiffened in posture, her ears hot as Rachel wrote out her number on her hand.

"I was hoping you'd go. I'm like you. Tired of the _'same old shit',"_ Rachel winked.

Chloe looked at her hand, noting the way Rachel wrote strikes across her 7's. She opened her mouth to give her her answer, when-

" _RACHEL_!" Aimee called out. "Are you coming?"

"Shit!" Rachel swore in mild frustration, surprising Chloe. "I forgot that I had a meeting for French Club. Text me at that number, Chloe. Bye!"

As quickly as she had appeared, Rachel turned on her heel and left. Chloe watched her walk away, lowering her eyes to her hand with the tidy handwriting of Rachel's phone number.

Steph was never going to believe this.

Chloe figured she had better get going before her attempt to ditch the rest of the day got intercepted by Skip, the security guard, coming back from his lunch break. Although Rachel's back was turned to her and she was several feet away by now, she said: "Bye, I guess."

As she exited the school, her small smile that formed after the conversation only seemed to intensify the more she psyched herself up over the fact that a girl she has liked since she was a freshman had just invited her to her birthday party.

 **Author's Note:** **Chapter One. :) xo My chapter ones tend to be kind of on the short side. The next chapters are longer. I will be posting them once a week. xo - k.**


	2. Chapter 2

Good Intentions:

A Life is Strange Fanfiction

 **Chapter Two**

"She invited you to her party?"

Steph dragged a limp fry across the puddle of ketchup she had beside it.

"Yeah. Is that...weird?" Chloe glanced down at her hand where Rachel had written her number, tracing the bleeding ink with her thumb. She would have to wash it off eventually; but, until then, she would keep it as a sign that what conspired actually happened.

Steph shrugged, popping the fry into her mouth. She swallowed and took a big gulp of her soda before responding.

"Kind of, Chlo. I mean. She was never interested in you before- and now, suddenly, you are invited to her party?"

Chloe furrowed her brows.

"Is it really so hard to believe that she invited me to her party?"

Steph sighed, grabbing another fry.

"I believe she invited you. I just wonder why this time and not any other time before. We've been going to school with Rachel Amber for three years now."

"Two," Chloe corrected, grabbing two fries and coating them with melted cheddar before pushing them into her mouth. "We're juniors. Freshman year is one year, sophomore two, so this is year three and it isn't over yet or even close."

Her friend rolled her eyes. "I don't think you're seeing my point."

"I think we just see the point differently," Chloe chided with a careless shrug. "To me, the real point here is, I was invited. But..I've never been to a rich girl slumber party."

The teen grabbed the hem of her t-shirt to pull it out for easier examination: the fabric was thin and its color a faded black, its main subject a crumbling image of Slipknot masks. The t-shirt had a charming feature of grains of salt from her french fries.

"How do I dress for that? Rachel isn't going to be impressed by this."

Steph licked a bit of cheese from her thumb. "Just be yourself. She said she wanted to hang out with someone different, right? Well, around here, you definitely take the cake."

Chloe tossed a fry at Steph, who laughed.

"C'mon. I mean it in a good way. You're ballsy. She is Miss Perfect. Maybe she is bored and looking for something more exciting to come along."

Chloe held back a smirk. She couldn't help but picture something very 'exciting' that could occur between herself and Rachel Amber. If, Rachel even felt the same way. For all Chloe knew, it could have been a set-up. But, for what? She had never done anything to Rachel personally.

"Hopefully that's all it is. Though, it would be pretty bad ass for it to be a set up like in the Stephen King movie 'Carrie,'" She hummed to herself, a smile on her face from imagining herself developing telekinetic abilities and destroying anyone who crossed her.

More specifically, if only she had those powers to use on David.

Steph laughed, "you would make a good Carrie. I wouldn't mess with you, that's for sure."

As though Steph had read Chloe's mind, she added, "does David know you're going?"

Chloe snorted. "What do you think? He may be my legal _'stepdad'_ but, he isn't my real dad. He can never be. So, really, his opinion matters for shit."

She rested her forearms on the small table they were seated at, habitually picking at the worn leather bracelet she had on.

Steph didn't remark, but her quiet nod signaled to Chloe that she understood.

The buzz of her phone sent Chloe digging into her pocket. Her heart jumped. She hoped it was Rachel. She sent her a text earlier so that Rachel could save her number and give her the address to her house for the party. Realistically, Arcadia Bay wasn't all that large and it wasn't difficult to determine that the house made of gray paneling with splashes of warm brick belonged to the Ambers; especially given the large stone that had 'THE AMBERS RESIDENCE' neatly lasered into its smooth surface. Chloe passed it every time she walked home. She even scraped her chin in front of the house when attempting to skateboard her sophomore year.

To avoid appearing creepy, i.e., somehow stalkerish- Chloe opted to pretend she didn't know the exact location of Rachel's house.

She unlocked her screen and her shoulders slumped when she saw it was just a text from her mother.

 **[MOM]:** I picked up an extra shift tonight. It will be you and David for dinner tonight.

 **[MOM]:** Behave. Please. He is trying.

A heavy sigh escaped the girl, and she pocketed the phone- not even bothering to craft a response.

Her mother's old words to her as a child rang in her mind: _'if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all.'_

It wasn't that she particularly enjoyed making her mother upset. It was quite the opposite. Despite the spite that began brewing the moment her mother married a man who was nothing like her late father- her love for her mother and the fact that she had no one else now outweighed her desire to inflict some form of punishment.

Chloe got up from the table and raised her arms up to stretch.

"You got your bellybutton pierced?!" Steph cried out, dropping her phone on the table and leaning in to look closer at what jewelry she got.

"A pot leaf gem on the ring. Why am I not surprised?" Steph laughed. "I like it, though. Who did it? I know your parents didn't sign off on you to get something like that."

She reached out to touch it, but, Chloe gently swatted the curious hand away.

"Don't touch it! It's healing. Slowly, I might add," Chloe laughed, looking down at her piercing. She needed to clean it again that day, from the looks of the mild crusting of the puncture holes near the silver ring.

"Frank did it."

"That weird 20-something who still hangs out with high schoolers?" Steph teased.

Chloe chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. Though, he doesn't really just hang out with any high schoolers. Just some of the cool ones."

She poked her tongue out at Steph. "I guess that cancels you out."

"Don't you have somewhere to go, Price? You didn't get up for no reason. Goodbye," Steph tossed a fry at Chloe, who dodged.

"Later," Chloe responded with a salute.

"Hey! Chloe?" Steph called out to her as the other walked away.

"Yeah?" Chloe paused and looked over at Steph.

"Don't wear that shirt. Wear that weird ribcage shirt you bought online. The one where it is half skeleton half robot. Nobody has that shirt and, just saying, it makes your tits look bigger."

Chloe started laughing. She didn't have big breasts to begin with, nor did she know if Rachel would even notice something of that nature on her of all people.

"Sure, Steph. Thank you. Don't want my boobs to look inadequate for Rachel Amber."

The autumn leaves scraped across the pavement of the empty roads, with only the occasional car passing through. The neighborhood was still dead since most people were in school still or at their nine to five jobs.

A chill in the air that sent the leaves swirling into miniature tornadoes of oranges and reds caused tiny bumps of flesh to raise on the back of Chloe's neck, and she grabbed a hold of her hooded sweatshirt to tighten its hold around her torso. The sweatshirt used to have a working zipper- but the part that actually allowed the zipper to come together had mysteriously come off.

She kicked a small rock with her scoffed shoes, her phone buzzing against her thigh.

' _Shit, I forgot to reply to Mom_ ,' Chloe thought to herself glumly.

She opened her lock screen and her heart fluttered upon seeing the name that glowed on her screen: **RACHEL**.

 **[RACHEL]:** Hey! Are we still on for tonight?

Chloe's thumbs quickly typed out her response.

 **[CHLOE]:** Wouldn't miss it.

 **. . .**

 **[RACHEL]:** Awesome! Come hungry.

Chloe smiled so big that her cheeks hurt.

 **[CHLOE]:** No worries there. I am ALWAYS hungry. See you tonight.

Her buzz of joy carried her until she reached her house. Seeing David's car in the driveway, her shoulders slumped and she came to a pause. She surveyed the house, as though examining it for the first time. Mentally preparing for what could possibly go down between herself and Step Douche.

"Here we go. You've got this," She coached to herself out loud. She released a tiny sigh and finally stuck her key into the front door and twisted it to let herself in.

Her initial greeting was the heavily fragranced plug-in device that made her house smell like laundry detergent. The technical name for the fragrance was 'Fresh Linen'. She figured she was damn near close with likening the scent to straight up laundry detergent.

Chloe kicked off her shoes. It used to be a pain for her to wrestle them off when they were new- but, she had done to them what she did to all of her shoes to make them more comfortable: stretched them, took them through the trials of her life such as climbing around in the junkyard or walking blocks to the gas station for slushies, and just last week she took someone else's bicycle for a joyride. The shoes yielded quickly and now could be removed just by her shaking her foot.

She made her way into the living room where the sound of a crowd cheering and an enthusiastic sportscaster gave the play-by-play of the game that was going on.

She saw David seated on the couch in the living room, a beer in one hand and the remote in the other. She had tried teaching him to use Netflix upon her mother's begging request because it would be a 'bonding' experience for them, but, David insisted on cable only and how cable allowed him to watch his live action sports and Netflix did not.

Chloe attempted to tiptoe past him, but the floorboards were a little creaky, and he apparently heard her shut the front door even over his football game.

"Hello, Chloe," He called out to her with his pseudo 'nice' tone of voice. "Did you mother get ahold of you?"

"Hi, David," Chloe replied flatly. "Yeah, she did. Said she was working late?"

"Yeah," David replied listlessly. "I was thinking we could order a pizza if you want to. Your mother usually cooks and I fear for our safety if I try to cook." He forced a laugh.

Chloe didn't even muster a smile. ' _You're old. You should know how to cook for yourself by now.'_

Her lips sang a different tune.

"Um, that would be so cool, _but_. I don't feel all that good today." Chloe raised a hand to her stomach, taking a deep breath in for added effect.

David looked over at her, his brown eyes hard with disbelief. "Oh?"

Chloe nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry. It's- it's just my stomach, it's been acting up all day..." She gave a tiny groan, clutching her stomach a little tighter.

David wasn't buying it. Then again, he never did, even when it was true.

"Chloe, is this just you wanting to avoid dinner with me? It might not be so bad. Your mom said you like pizza."

Chloe shook her head, tucking strands of blue behind her ear. "N-no. I _do_ love pizza. I just really don't think-" She turned away from him, quickly bringing a hand to cover her mouth. She started to gag.

David sat up higher. "Are you okay, Chloe?"

She didn't respond, and instead quickly ran to the kitchen trash can, making sure her back was to David so she could stealthily jab a finger down her throat and induce herself to empty the fries she just had.

Desperate times called for even more desperate measures.

"Uggghh..." She groaned once she was finished, wincing at the acidic taste in her mouth. God. She hated the smell of vomit. But, she needed to be convincing if she wanted to go to Rachel's party without David trying to indulge her in joyless activities like sitting a foot away from him on the couch while he watched football.

"Jeez, Chloe...maybe you should go lay down. I can order the pizza anyway and just save you some for later for if you feel up to eating." David replied.

Even though he wouldn't say it out loud, Chloe sensed a feeling of relief from him. He didn't like spending time with her as much as she didn't enjoy spending hers with him.

"T-thanks, David. I'm sorry. Raincheck though, okay?" Chloe grabbed a paper towel to swipe across her mouth and ball up to put into the trash. She lifted the trash bag out of the can and tied it off.

"Guess...I'd better get this out, real quick." The smell was close to making her vomit with no encouragement from her own fingers.

David didn't respond, now leaning closer to the TV, his eyes wide as a play was made on the screen.

"That's a _penalty_! There is _no-goddamn-way_ they didn't see that!"

Chloe exhaled, feeling her tension melt. She would definitely be able to get out tonight going unnoticed. She was grateful she only saved actual vomiting for emergencies.

She tossed the garbage bag over her shoulder and made her way to the back door, throwing the garbage into its rightful place out back before returning inside.

The teen made her way to her bedroom, immediately going up to her closet. She snatched her phone out of her pocket and turned on her spotify to play _'Shut Me Up'_ by Mindless Self Indulgence. Chloe sashayed her hips, dancing vigorously to the heavy beat while making her way to her closet.

She pulled the door open, a couple of boxes of Converse shoes spilling out on her. She had a bit of a problem. It started with one black pair when she was fourteen and the one black pair quickly became a variation of high and low tops, different shades for different moods.

She kicked them aside and grabbed several hangers of shirts, jeans, and her collection of studded belts. Some of which, weren't traditionally purchased. Chloe was a fan of the five finger discount.

She laid them out on her bed, grabbing each shirt and holding it up to herself in her mirror. Normally, she would just grab clothes from the floor, smell them to make sure they were clean and put them on. But tonight, she needed to make an impression. This might be her only shot at standing out to Rachel Amber. Rarely did she find herself trying so hard for anyone- not even for herself. Her thoughts were flooded with everything that occurred from their brief interaction: the way the blonde of Rachel's hair was twisted into a couple of tiny braids to decorate her ponytail, the smell of her bubblegum leaving her lips along with her words:

 _'I'm like you. Tired of the_ _ **'same old shit.'**_

Chloe found in her pile the shirt that Steph had suggested. It really was an interesting shirt- a black that hadn't faded yet, the intricate design of the ribcage still appearing new. Half of the rib cage was like a regular human rib cage, which is to say it was bone- the other half consisted of wires and metal rods. It caught her eye when she found out that one of her favorite stores was having an online sale.

She paired it with her leather wrist cuffs, a studded belt that was checkered black and white, her dark blue skinny jeans, and a pair of high topped black converse sneakers.

She made her way to her full-length mirror, pivoting slowly to examine the way the outfit fit her. The jeans fit her form and hung off of her petite hips, the shirt clinging to her form, and, as Steph had suggested, seemed to give the appearance that she had a bigger chest.

A Chesire cat grin plastered itself on Chloe's face. She looked and felt _hot_.

She turned the music off on her phone, grabbing it along with her charger. She stuffed them into a pull-string bag she sometimes carried for if she had too much for her skinny jean pockets. Her mom used to try to give her purses, but, they often ended up gathering in a forgotten pile beneath her bed. Chloe found that her only use for them was to sneak snacks into the movie theater and to aid her in stealing alcohol.

She was almost ready to go. She opened up one of her dresser drawers and pushed two sticks of mint gum into her mouth, swishing around the mildly burning substance.

Chloe pulled a knit cap onto her head, pulling out her phone to text Rachel:

 **[CHLOE]:** omw.

 **Author's Note:** &&&& that's chapter two. :) Hope anyone reading this enjoyed and I will have chapter three up next week. xo


	3. Chapter 3

Good Intentions:

A Life is Strange Fanfiction

 **Chapter Three**

What happened at Rachel's party was nothing like what Chloe had expected to happen.

The young woman approached the porch of the grand house that was the Amber residence. The first thing she observed was that there weren't _any_ cars parked outside. She thought that Aimee and April had cars- she had seen Rachel get into the passenger's seat of a red Honda Civic before with the other two in tow.

The emptiness of the lot had her second guessing- maybe Rachel's friends did not actually have a vehicle and instead their parents dropped them off, or they walked.

' _That's weird_ ,' Chloe thought to herself. ' _Maybe they borrow their parent's car for rides to school_.'

Chloe felt awkward about ringing the doorbell and opted to send a text instead:

 **[CHLOE]:** Here

She lowered her phone, noticing some movement from the window by the front door. A porch light turned on, and the door opened up.

Rachel waved to her, a weak smile on her face. She stepped a socked foot outside and propped open the screen door for Chloe: "Hey! Come on in..."

Chloe smiled back, "Hey."

She stepped inside; accidentally brushing against Rachel and mumbling a quick, " _sorry_ " for doing so.

Once inside, she was instantly greeted with a sweet smell, something like cake or brownies, and the haunting melody of some sort of piano music pouring from a pastel pink record player that sat on the large kitchen island that Chloe could see from the entryway.

"Um, where is everyone?" She asked, slipping off her shoes on the door mat and walking further inside.

Rachel bit her lip, her brows knitting together in discomfort.

"Oh, um. Sorry. I know you were probably expecting more, Chloe..." The blonde brought the cuff of the flannel shirt she was wearing to her nose and rubbed it a bit. Her downcast eyes revealed wet, matted lashes.

"What's wrong, Rachel?" Chloe asked, walking up to Rachel and reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder.

Rachel shocked Chloe by spilling into a sudden mess of tears- grabbing onto the blue-haired girl and burying her face into her shoulder.

Chloe's posture stiffened, unsure of what she was supposed to do. She wasn't great with other people's feelings. She could feel the tears saturate her shoulder.

 _'She really needs someone right now...'_ She told herself. ' _C'mon. Fucking do something, you idiot-'_

Chloe relaxed slightly and opened up her arms to wrap them around the sobbing girl.

"The party was _today_ , right?" She asked timidly. ' _God, I probably sound like a moron_.'

Rachel pulled away from her shoulder and looked into Chloe's eyes, green eyes pooling with almost looked like black ink from her mascara.

"Yes. It was going to be you, me, Aimee, April, and my parents. But..." Rachel's voice grew softer.

"But?" Chloe pressed delicately, her hands still holding onto Rachel's waist.

The other girl pulled away from Chloe, but took one of her hands to lead her into the kitchen.

The timer had started dinging loudly for whatever Rachel had in the oven.

Chloe watched as Rachel turned the timer off and opened the oven- now able to see inside, it was revealed that the sweet scent belonged to a pan full of brownies.

"Can you hand me those?" Rachel asked, pointing at the oven mitts on the counter top beside Chloe.

She grabbed them and tossed them to her.

Rachel removed the pan and turned off the oven.

"What's going on, Rachel? Why didn't they show up?" Chloe could feel her thoughts spinning as she tried to figure out the situation. She never thought she would see Rachel Amber crying alone on the night of her own birthday party.

Rachel rubbed her eyes with the back of her sleeve, smearing a trail of black across the fabric.

"Ow," she complained quietly. "Mascara got in my eyes, dammit..." Rachel started cutting the outline of the brownies. She didn't give any sort of indication that she even heard Chloe.

Chloe opened her mouth, about to ask again-

But then Rachel sighed.

"I told them that I wanted something small this year," She began, pushing the pan of brownies away from herself to let them cool. She rested an elbow on the granite surface of the island, her eyes fixated on Chloe.

"I just, for _once_ , wanted something with _just_ the people that I'm close with-"

 _'Except for me...'_ Chloe thought, but did not speak out loud.

"Right.." She said instead, encouraging Rachel to continue.

" -and, well," Rachel paused momentarily. "My friends thought it was a dumb idea."

Chloe remembered what she heard in gym class:

 _'Aw, c'mon, Rachel! That's lame.'_

She looked down at her sneakers, having difficulty seeing Rachel cry.

"Why did they think it was dumb?"

Rachel sighed, more angrily this time, her tone of voice tightening,

"For their own selfish reasons," She practically spat. "Aimee likes that my cousin Dustin usually comes in from Denver to hang out. She is crazy over him even though- even though she could have _any_ guy with how rich and _pretty_ she is." Rachel chewed the inside of her cheek, a scowl on her face.

"And then April, April just wants people to show her poetry to. It's cool that she published a book, but. Sometimes I think she is only my friend so that she can _network_."

Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but, felt a sense of relief when Rachel started pouring out her feelings again. She wasn't sure what she could have said to comfort her to begin with.

"I know, I sound like a selfish person, too. I just- I know they like my parties and the people in drama club do too, but. I wanted this year to be _mine_. I wanted to just have a nice, relaxed night with my friends and my parents."

Rachel walked over to the dining room table and sat down. Chloe followed suit. They sat in silence for several seconds.

"So, then. They _refused_ to come? Where are your parents?"

Rachel nodded. "Aimee said she would rather just go to this senior girl's party. April claims she has some sort of poetry reading to go to that the poet Rupi Kaur is going to. It's just funny to me how suddenly these plans crop up for them the moment that I tell them that I don't want to do anything big and extravagant."

Chloe nodded solemnly.

"My parents.." Rachel stifled a bitter laugh, standing up from the chair. Her eyes narrowed; her gaze shifting to the living room area.

Chloe followed her hard stare, and it appeared that the girl's eyes were trained on the fireplace. She could see the flames dancing in the reflection of Rachel's eyes. The heat of it seemed to boil the blonde's blood more- because she stomped over to the fireplace, snatching a trophy from the fireplace mantle.

" _This_ ," She said, nastily, showing it to Chloe as though showing her a person's misdeed, " _this_ is all my parents care about. My dad's fucking job. The _money_ he gets from his fucking job. The fucking _gambling_ trips they go on with the fucking money. Nevermind that it's their only daughter's _birthday_!"

Chloe read the little plate attached to the award: _District Attorney James Amber, in recognition of 30 years of service to the citizens of Arcadia Bay and your dedication to seeking justice._

She didn't get to gawk long before Rachel tore it away from her face and threw it with all of her might at the window.

Chloe jumped up, the loud _CRASH_ to the window causing spiderwebs of shattered glass to trickle all around the area of impact.

"Rachel..." She said softly, staying in place. She wasn't sure that Rachel was safe to even touch.

Rachel didn't seem phased by the damage to the window, instead allowing tears to pour down her cheeks, her expression a mingled mess of pleasure from the destruction and the anger that originally initiated the throw.

She stooped down and took the award she threw. It was chipped from being thrown. She shrugged to herself and tossed it into the fire. The teen stood in front of it beside Chloe, watching as the flames licked and crackled in their digestion of James Amber's award.

"What..about the window?" Chloe breathed out, surprised when Rachel seemed to be leaning back against her. She supported the shorter girl, who grabbed her hand and laced their fingers. Chloe swallowed hard and allowed her hand to be held, giving Rachel's a small squeeze.

Rachel chuckled quietly.

"The window doesn't matter. They'll fix it," She smirked smugly at her handiwork once more before she led Chloe into the kitchen again.

"Those brownies are cooled off now. We should have some."

Chloe's eyes wearily followed as Rachel grabbed a spatula from the kitchen drawer to start separating the pieces she previously cut into.

There was an eerie calm, and although the fire roared in the distance, she felt a chill along her spine.

"I'm sorry that they didn't come to your birthday, Rachel...that's really shitty," She said softly.

Rachel smiled kindly at the girl, offering her a small plate with a couple of warm brownies on it.

"Me too, Chloe. But. _You_ came. I was worried that even you wouldn't come."

Chloe accepted the plate and gathered a brownie to push into her mouth for a bite. Soft, gooey. She lowered the brownie back down to the plate, chewing and swallowing before speaking.

"Why did you think I wouldn't come?"

Rachel looked slightly amused- and reached out to wipe some chocolate away from the corner of Chloe's mouth. Chloe blushed and re-rubbed the spot with the cuff of her sleeve.

"Well, why would you come? You don't hang out with the people I hang out with. I know you don't do after school clubs or activities. You're a lone wolf. I figured maybe it just wasn't your scene."

Chloe shook her head, swallowing another mouthful of brownie.

"What else do I have to do?" She laughed. "Besides, when a-...cute girl asks me to come to her birthday party, I would be stupid to say no."

It was Rachel's turn to blush, her green eyes widening in surprise.

"Cute, huh?"

Chloe lowered her plate to the counter, daring to stand a little closer to Rachel.

"Very. Everyone else thinks so too."

Rachel looked up at Chloe, her gaze deepening.

"Chloe, I don't give a fuck about what anyone thinks. I want you to know that. Just because my family has money and my Dad is the DA-"

Chloe cut her off mid-sentence, her lips silencing Rachel's in a soft kiss.

She broke it, their lips grazing, their breaths mingling.

Rachel reached up and grabbed onto either side of Chloe's face to pull her tight to her lips again, their kissing intensified. Chloe placed her hands on Rachel's hips, pulling her body closer to hers.

She felt Rachel's fingers rake her knitted hat off of her head to tangle themselves into Chloe's hair. She kissed the girl harder in response, a tongue probing soft lips for entrance. Chloe tasted and soaked in the shorter girl- her senses were on fire. The girl wanted more, but-

Rachel broke their kiss.

"Woah," Rachel breathed.

"Do you want to stop?" Chloe asked, pressing her hips against Rachel's more to close any space between the two of them.

Rachel sighed and kissed Chloe's cheek.

"No. But. I want to wait. Is that okay?"

Chloe loosened her hold on Rachel, but pulled her into her arms to hug her.

"Of course it is. I'll wait as long as you need."

Rachel returned the hug, her form relaxing against Chloe.

"Thank you- and..." She pulled away to look at Chloe, one hand coming up to cup the girl's cheek, a thumb brushing a stray lock of hair from her eye.

"I need you to promise me something."

"Anything," Chloe responded automatically, eyes filled with concern for the other girl.

Rachel's face softened at the answer, and she kissed Chloe again.

"Please don't tell anyone about the party tonight...I told people I wasn't going to have a party so people wouldn't give me a hard time about wanting something small this year...and then, there is just...the fact that no one even came to that."

Rachel's eyes glanced down at her shoes, her expression pained.

"I won't," Chloe raised her pinkie in front of Rachel's face. "Pinkie promise."

Rachel smiled, linking her pinkie with Chloe's.

"You're even cooler than I thought, Chloe Price."

Chloe grinned.

"So are you, Rachel Amber."

"What do we do now?" Rachel sighed.

Chloe thought for a moment.

"We could egg this house. Not a fun mess to clean for your parents."

Rachel formed a smile that touched her eyes. She nodded eagerly.

"Now, you're speaking my language."

The blonde got up from the couch and pulled open the fridge door, grabbing both cartons of eggs from inside. She handed one to Chloe, who tucked hers under her arm. Rachel grabbed Chloe's hand with the other and the two practically ran outside in front.

It was late, and hardly any porch lights were on. Not even a dog barked.

Rachel didn't waste any time- she walked backwards in her family's driveway to get a good distance for targeting. She scooped up two eggs at a time and hurled them at the brick of the house, their white shells shattering instantly and the yellow goo of the yolk drooling down the ridges and grooves of the house.

Chloe smirked, admittedly impressed with Rachel's aim.

She grabbed a single egg, giving a hard throw so that it would splat against the window beside the broken one.

The blue-haired girl felt a buzz in her pocket and paused to check her phone:

 **[STEPH]:** well how did it go?

Chloe looked away from her phone, seeing Rachel laughing as she threw more eggs at her own house. Her entire being seemed to light up. She seemed so at ease; so happy.

. . .

 **[CHLOE]:** I didn't go.

Chloe tucked her phone away, running up beside Rachel to finish off their cartons.

Strands of blue hair stuck to the back of Chloe's neck, her skin damp from sweat. Bits of egg-shell clung to various parts of her- including the back of her head where Rachel decided to throw an egg at her when she wasn't looking.

The smile on her face seemed tattooed at that point. She could not remember the last time she laughed so much. She hoped that if she replayed the evening in her head repeatedly that the memory would remain vivid and not fade into a ghost; like memories often do.

Her smile vanished when she stopped in front of her house. She had forgotten that her mom had come home late. Joyce had to have known that she wasn't home, but, she must have not called David since Chloe's phone only buzzed with an interrogation from Steph about her supposed decision to not even attend Rachel's party.

She unlocked the front door and stepped inside, and, of course, Joyce was waiting for her at the kitchen table.

"Well, look who finally decided to come home," She said almost instantly, the drawl in her accent seeming to lengthen with her snarky tone.

Chloe shifted her weight to one foot, scanning her brain for what to say.

"I wanted to go out, Mom. You know David wouldn't have let me."

"And for good reason, Chloe. You do drugs, you drink, you steal, you lie. How can we just let you go out or trust anything you say you're going to do?" Joyce snapped.

Chloe frowned, "even when I am being honest, Step Dildo doesn't trust me for shit!"

"Lower your voice! I did you a favor and didn't even tell David about this, so don't go yellin' and cussin' in here to wake him up and bust yourself." Joyce crossed her arms, her brows knitted in aggravation.

Chloe's expression softened. "So…you didn't tell him?"

"No, Chloe, I didn't tell him. I've got a lot on my plate right now between you and finances and the last thing I need is you two down here waging a war. Now, sit down and tell me where you were."

The teen sighed heavily and dragged out a kitchen chair to take a seat on.

"I was…at a party-"

"Chloe!" Joyce interjected.

"No, Mom! Not that kind of party!" Chloe shot back. "Can I finish?!"

Joyce sat back in the chair, narrowing her eyes.

Chloe rested an elbow on the table, a finger drawing invisible circles into its surface as she spoke.

"There is this…girl. I used to think that maybe she was too good to hang out with me. Everybody likes her. The teachers, the other students…anyway. She invited me to her birthday party. I wasn't sure if I was going to go because of the people she hangs around. Nathan Prescott, that bitch Victoria Chase…but, I decided to go because she said she really wanted me to go. So, I showed up…"

Chloe paused, choosing her words carefully. She knew that Rachel was ashamed about the outcome of the party. She already lied to Steph. But, who would her Mom even tell?

"People were supposed to come and they didn't…just me. So. We made brownies and hung out. She is different than I thought she was. She is sadder than I would have ever thought she would be." Chloe's expression faltered slightly upon remembering the way that Rachel's tears streaked down her face and the way she grabbed onto Chloe for dear life to keep herself stable as her body shook with her sobs.

"Who is this girl, Chloe?" Joyce asked softly.

"I don't…want to say her name right now, because everybody knows everybody and I don't want anyone finding out about what happened because she was embarrassed and she didn't want other people to know that her party tanked. But. She is…really pretty, and smart, and…she…kind of reminds me of Max in some ways. With art and stuff."

Chloe raked a hand through her hair, her thigh bouncing from nerves.

"Oh, Chloe…" Joyce sighed and reached out to touch her hand. "You and Maxine were young when she moved…and she loved William, too. I don't think she knew what to do, honey. Or how to handle it."

Chloe withdrew her hand to rub at her eyes to prevent them from spilling over.

"She knew I needed her and she fucked off anyway," Chloe asserted. "I called her, Mom. I've texted her. Nothing. Abso-fucking-lutely _nothing_." She stood up from the table.

"Chloe-" Joyce attempted, her voice laced with concern.

"I'm done talking, Mom. I'm sorry. I can't. But, yeah. Thanks for not telling Step Douche. But that's where I was- at a girl's party where it was just me and her anyway."

Chloe took a step towards the stairs when Joyce added,

"Chloe. You girls didn't do any drugs, did you?" Her voice took on a stern tone.

"Nope. Ra- _she_ doesn't do that stuff."

They definitely smoked weed that Chloe had in her hoodie pocket after they were done egging the place. She was glad Rachel let her use her eye drops so that her eyes wouldn't be bloodshot and obvious.

"Well….okay. No more sneaking out like this, Chloe. You need to talk to me. I worry about you."

Chloe shrugged and turned her back once more, hearing her mother say,

"I'm glad you found a new friend. Hopefully, she is a good influence."

Chloe said nothing, standing in silence for a few seconds before she finally took her steps up the stairs and into the bathroom to wash the egg off of her.

She grabbed a towel from the hallway closet and stepped inside of the bathroom. A look in the mirror and she cringed slightly- stringy, greasy hair and egg yolk in dry, shiny patches on her neck and cheek. She was surprised Joyce didn't ask her about it, but, then again, there was only one dim lamp on when they had their conversation.

She stripped down, kicking her dirty clothes to the side and turning on the hot water. Although her skin would blotch red and by morning dry up, she enjoyed the feeling of the way the heat seemed to burn away the layer of filth she always felt was on her. Her grief from her father, her grief for her childhood friend, the pain of feeling as though she would never feel like anything close to herself ever again.

Chloe stepped inside, closing the curtain and allowing the water to spray all over her. She rubbed some from her eyes and looked down at her feet: chipped black nail polish on her toes, the swirling water tinted blue from her hair dye and pieces of eggshell spiraling down the drain.

A text notification from her phone snapped her out of her mini-trance, and she reached out of the shower, rubbing her hand on her towel before grabbing her phone to see who it was:

 **[RACHEL]:** thank you for tonight. You were there for me more than any of my friends have been.

A cluster of butterflies swirled in Chloe's chest and spread throughout her body. A weak smile formed. She set her phone down so she could finish washing up.

Her mindset had shifted within the fog of the shower from her losses, to her most recent gain, and she felt a glimmer of what she hadn't felt in a long time: hope.

 **Author's note: ladies and gentleman, chapter three. :]** **Chapter 4 will be up next week.**


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: I want to apologize to anyone reading for the delay in releasing this chapter! Between Thanksgiving and coming down with an awful sickness, I was unable to write very much! But, here it is, finally! :)

It had been two weeks since the outlandishness that was Rachel's birthday party.

Despite what Chloe had thought was the start of a connection- the crying, the emotions, their _kiss_. Chloe had woken up that next morning with no text from Rachel. She had made a point to text the blonde after her shower, and, when at first the girl did not reply, Chloe had assumed that maybe she had finally gone to bed.

But then; Chloe opened up Rachel's instagram. A short scroll into her newsfeed and Chloe found at least two new posts from Rachel. One was a selfie- and she appeared to be wearing the clothes from the night before. The second was of a bottle of wine and in its caption it read: ' _Moscato is the real MVP._ '

Chloe wondered if Rachel had just forgotten to reply. She figured not everyone answers their phone right away. Chloe herself wasn't that great of a texter at times. Not to mention, Rachel had apparently been drinking late. She could have been drunk and unable to reply to her.

Chloe's assumptions crumbled when 24 hours with no response became two weeks. No text, no snapchats, not even an instagram like. Just dead air and confusion.

The blue-haired girl was tired of debating Rachel's intentions and instead decided to take action. According to sites she found via Google, two was the number of texts a person could send before it was considered excessive.

 **[CHLOE]:** i had a great time teaching your parents a lesson, hope to hang again soon!

Chloe set her phone down and pulled out a small velvet baggie from her pocket and opened it up to dump out the multi-colored gaming dice inside of it. She sighed jadedly, toying with them on the wooden table she sat at. They weren't even hers- she had borrowed them from her friend Justin. She originally didn't have any initial interest in learning how to play- it was described to her as a 'strategy' game, and one that required a lot of concentration- something she wasn't exactly a scholar in. It was with Steph's insistence that she let her teach her how to play. Something to jar her free from the funk she found herself neck deep in.

"C'mon, Steph, where are you?" She asked out loud to no one in particular, her tone laced with rising irritation.

Chloe sighed dramatically, letting her forehead drop to the table.

"Hey!" Steph shouted then.

The girl raised her head, "Oh, hey! 'Bout time, man."

Steph hopped onto the seat across from her.

"Dude, you look like shit, are you high?" She panted, grabbing her hat off of her head so she could shake up her hair a little.

Chloe groaned loudly. "I _wish_ I were high."

"Still feeling _bleh_?" Steph asked, furrowing her brows. She reached out and started separating the dice between herself and Chloe.

Chloe rubbed her head. "Yeah. I guess. I might just be tired."

"Is it something with Rachel?" Steph pressed gently, dark eyes patient.

Chloe sat up straighter, frowning. "No. Why would it be about Rachel? I barely know her."

Steph tossed her hair over her shoulder, resting her cheek in her hand. She knew that there was no way Chloe was going to be able to focus on her game lessons in her current state of mind.

"Okay, you barely know her now? You were so gung-ho about her- you were like a Rachel _Stan_. You were stoked about the party- that you randomly didn't go to, by the way- and now she is just nothing and you're pissy and sad?"

Chloe sometimes wanted to kick Steph when she was painfully accurate in describing her mood swings.

"A Rachel _what_? Like I said, Steph, I _barely_ know her. She invited me to her party and I was gonna go but I decided I didn't want to. I'm just- in a weird mood right now. Can't I just have a bad day?"

The red-haired girl sighed, cracking her knuckles before shuffling a deck of cards she had out for their game.

"I mean there are bad days- but it's been like two weeks. If you won't talk about it- fine. But I am just _wondering_ , what made you change your mind about the party?"

Chloe picked at one of the studs on her cuff bracelet. "I chickened out." She felt terrible about lying to Steph. She was one of her good friends and she always seemed to be there for Chloe; but, she had to keep her promise to Rachel. Steph understood things like promises; especially something of this caliber. Chloe took solace in this thought.

Steph raised her brows, an amused glint in her eyes.

"Chloe Price wimped out on something? Like I would believe that. You were so ready the day before the party. Try again, Price."

Chloe rested her elbow on the table, her hand cupping her cheek as she looked over at Steph, her expression somber.

"Well...yeah. I mean. I was stoked. I didn't think she would invite me to her birthday like that. But, even if I wanted to go-I mean, she's Rachel Amber. I saw the shocked looks people gave me and her in the hallway when she was talking to me the day she invited me. It's just not realistic."

Steph's face softened, tilting her head slightly.

"And so you didn't go? Since when do you care about what other people think? You pissed in the principal's Mountain Dew once, for god's sake."

Chloe couldn't help but laugh when Steph brought up freshman year. "I don't. But, it did kind of remind me that we are from different worlds. It's pointless to go, anyway."

"If you say so," Steph muttered with a small shake of her head.

"And I do," Chloe pressed, giving Steph a playful nudge with her sneaker.

Steph gave Chloe a light kick.

Chloe kicked back harder, laughing.

"Hello," A familiar voice chimed in.

Chloe and Steph looked up from their kicking to see Rachel standing in front of them with flyers in her arms; Aimee at her side.

"Hey, Rachel...Aimee," Chloe replied automatically.

"Hey," Steph echoed, delivering a quick glance to Chloe before returning her gaze to the blonde.

Aimee, who began leafing through the flyer pile she held to better break them up, pulled out a couple and handed them to Step and Chloe.

"Hi! Me and Rachel are just passing out these flyers! They're for April's open mic event! It's five dollars at the door- but we will have snacks and drinks and some of the proceeds go towards teaching adults in less fortunate communities how to read."

Chloe accepted the flyer, scanning its contents. She looked back up at Rachel, who avoided her eyes.

"Cool," Steph said then, unzipping her backpack and slipping it inside. "I'll hang onto this then."

Aimee beamed, brushing a strand of her hair away from her face and gathering her flyers closer to her chest. "K-Cool- _Great_! Thanks, guys! Remember, it's for a good cause, so spread the word!"

"Rachel?" Chloe asked then- but Aimee grabbed Rachel's hand and started pulling her away.

"Sorry, but we are _sooo_ busy! Chat later!" Aimee intercepted.

"Okay, bye then," Steph said softly, watching as the two girls walked away from them.

Once they were out of earshot, Steph turned to Chloe.

"Uh, what the fuck was that all about?"

Chloe shrugged, her mood sinking even more than before. "I don't know."

"Are you sure nothing happened?" Steph asked, looking over towards Rachel and Aimee, who were off in the distance chatting up the jocks about the event and handing them flyers as well.

"Yes, Steph, for the _millionth_ freaking time, nothing happened," Chloe snapped, gathering up the dice and shoving them back into the baggie.

"Jeez! Chloe, you don't need to leave. I won't ask anymore," Steph pleaded with a pout.

"I'm sorry. I can't. It's not you. I'm just not in the mood," Chloe handed the bag to Steph. "Can you give these to Justin when you see him? My head is not in Dungeons and Dragons right now." She got up from the table, snatching her backpack from the ground and slugging it over her shoulder.

"Um...alright. Bye, then. Text me later?" Steph's eyes held concern. Chloe so badly wanted to tell her what was going on- tell her that Rachel's party was amazing, that she learned so much about her, that they made out for a few seconds. A lot happened- only to not hear a word from Rachel and even worse- she was a ghost to her at school now for reasons Chloe couldn't figure out.

"Yeah, I'll text you," Chloe replied glumly.

Chloe exhaled loudly, kicking a pebble with the toe of her boot, hands shoved into her pockets as she made her way to her rusted pick-up truck. She needed to clear her head. Not that she ever needed a reason to skip class.

She pulled open the door to the driver's seat, climbing inside and checking her phone again. It hadn't vibrated- but she felt the need to check, just to be certain.

Still nothing.

She raked her hands through her hair, eyes on her lap. She wasn't sure what went wrong. She wondered if she came on too strongly- then again, Rachel kissed her back. She wondered if Rachel regretted inviting her at all. She picked at one of the holes in her jeans, the tip of her thumb ripping through the tiny fibers of fabric to open it further. She pressed her thumbnail against the newly exposed skin, leaving a crescent moon indent. It felt kind of nice to focus on something other than her perceived failures- so she pressed again, a little harder. The mark became a dark pink.

Chloe debated pressing harder- but she heard a laugh.

She looked up from her lap, seeing Rachel chatting with April in the parking lot. She was smiling, her face lit up with whatever April seemed to be telling her. Chloe couldn't make out exactly what Rachel was saying- but she could hear the bubbly tone of voice she had.

Her hands squeezed into fists on her lap. It was fine if Rachel didn't like her. But, she knew that if she didn't at least figure out if she had done anything wrong, it would end up driving her crazy.

Chloe got out of the truck and made her way over to Rachel and April.

April stopped speaking and surveyed Chloe carefully. Her nose then crinkled, "Chloe, you smell like _weed_."

Chloe ignored April and instead looked right at Rachel, whose expression fell into one of surprise.

"I need to talk to you, Rachel," Chloe said.

Rachel paused, as though she considered denying the request. Finally, she nodded. "Okay. Yeah. Sure. April, can you just excuse me?"

April rolled her eyes. "Whatever. She's probably just trying to sell you crack, so, I'd be careful."

Chloe looked at April, her expression grave and her tone flat: "I prefer meth."

April's eyes widened and Chloe thought they were going to bulge out of her head. Rachel cracked a small smile at the remark, and bit her cheek to hold back her laughter.

Chloe nodded towards her truck, and Rachel followed dutifully.

Rachel leaned against the truck, digging into her back pocket to pull out a lighter with the Leo symbol on it.

"Can I bum a cigarette?" She asked.

Chloe had a pack, she pulled it out of her messenger bag and tugged one loose to give to Rachel, and then pulled one out for herself.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" The blonde questioned, her words mumbled from the cigarette she had dangling between her lips. She raised her lighter, and ignited a flame to fire it up.

Chloe still had her cigarette between her fingers, allowing her hand to hang at her side with it. She furrowed her brows, unable to fully control the frustration that was building.

"You have no idea? None?" She asserted.

"No," Rachel answered, a little too quickly. She took a slow drag and pursed her lips to create small smoke rings.

"Bullshit!" Chloe snapped, causing a few students from a distance to look over at them. She lowered her voice. "I don't get it. We- _kissed_ at your party, and then-"

Rachel plucked her cigarette from her mouth in a haste to respond. " _You_ kissed _me_."

"And you kissed me back," Chloe deadpanned.

Rachel's lips formed a thin line. She looked down at her shoes, then bringing the cigarette to her lips for another drag.

"A kiss isn't a promise, Chloe. It's just…I was upset that night."

Chloe felt her aggravation subsiding. At least Rachel was acknowledging that what had happened had actually _happened_ \- versus ignoring her and pretending it never took place. She stood on the other side of her then, her back leaning against the truck. They stood in silence as Chloe lit up her own cigarette.

"Look. I didn't mean to snap. I know it was just a kiss. It just...sucked that you invited me to your party, and then we kissed, and we had a fun time, or, well, so I thought. I guess I just thought we were at least friends if nothing else. I'm sorry if you regret inviting me to your party."

Rachel's green eyes widened slightly at Chloe, a flash of hurt crossing them.

"Oh, Chloe...I don't regret inviting you." She sighed, a small stream of smoke leaving her lips.

"Then what is it?" Chloe raised herself from against the truck, pivoting to face Rachel. She scanned the girl's face, trying to figure her out.

Rachel crossed her arms. "I just got out of something. It didn't exactly end well. And. I mean. You're pretty damn cool, Chloe. You don't give a rat's ass. You do you. I like that. I respect that. I wasn't sure if you kind of liked me too- but then you kissed me…" She paused, swallowing hard before continuing. "...and it was great. So sweet. Gentle."

Chloe's brows knitted in perplexion. She gnawed at the inside of her cheek, waiting for Rachel to finish.

The other girl raised her eyes to meet Chloe's. "I don't want to get hurt again."

Chloe reached out to take Rachel's hand, her thumb brushing over her knuckle. The cigarette in her other hand was wasting away, gray ashes dropping down by their feet on the pavement.

"Hey. We only hung out once. We don't have to do anything that you're not comfortable doing. I'm sorry about just kissing you like that. I guess I got kind of caught up and felt...kind of close to you."

Rachel peered at Chloe, her expression nonplussed.

Chloe sighed. "I didn't realize how lonely you actually were. I thought since you were so popular, so surrounded by people who think you're hot and cool...which you are, but, still. I didn't think we would have so much in common."

Rachel gave Chloe's hand a gentle squeeze, still holding onto it after Chloe had grabbed it.

"I thought you liked being alone."

Chloe stared down at the few ashes that remained. A few specks got on her sneaker.

"Not always. Besides, there is a difference between being alone and being lonely."

Rachel took a drag from her cigarette, then raised her shoe to snub out the bit that was left, tucking the cigarette stub into her pocket until she could get to a trash can.

"That's true."

Silence lingered between the two for several seconds, the only sound being nearby students gabbing and a few birds that chirped from the tree beside the truck.

"Look, I'm not asking you to marry me. We don't even have to kiss ever again. But, it was cool hanging out. I was hoping maybe you would want to again." Chloe looked over at Rachel, flicking her cigarette to the ground and using the bottom of her shoe to scrape it against the blacktop.

Rachel smiled softly. "Yeah. You're right. I probably overreacted. Just...scared."

"Aren't we all?" Chloe retorted playfully, returning the smile.

Rachel's smile widened and she laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm sorry for ignoring you."

Chloe shrugged. "Meh. We figured it out. No biggie."

"Hugie," Rachel teased. "Hey...there is this concert. This Saturday. We should go to that."

Chloe punched a fist into the air. "Hell yeah! I fucking love concerts! Whose playing?"

Rachel chuckled. "You're cute. It's Firewalk."

Chloe's eyes lit up and she squealed loudly. "No fucking way, dude! I love them!"

Rachel grinned excitedly, her voice animated. "I know! I saw you wearing a shirt of them before! Let's go!"

Chloe squealed again and gathered Rachel in a tight hug, lifting her up and twirling her around. Rachel gasped in surprise and hugged her back, their laughter mingling.

Chloe sat her down on her feet, and Rachel raised a hand to her head. "Oh, shit," She giggled. "Dizzy. Thanks a lot, crazy!"

Chloe heard a buzzing sound, she touched her pocket, thinking it was her. Rachel had already taken her phone out and was reading the text she had apparently received.

"Crap. Gotta go to fifth period. Test today." She sighed, then brightened. "But, we on for Saturday?"

Chloe smirked. "Fuck yes! Go get educated or whatever. Text me later?"

Rachel saluted her, "Aye, aye, Captain. See ya later." She winked, which caused Chloe's heart to flutter wildly.

She watched as the blonde made her exit, briskly walking her way to the science building on campus.

Chloe's heart swelled in her chest, and she felt a mild buzz throughout her body. She wanted to scream with joy- but really did not feel like getting busted and brought back into school by Skip or a teacher. So, she opted to just get into her truck and make her way to the junkyard to smoke the huge blunt she had ready to go in her truck's dashboard.

Her phone buzzed.

[RACHEL]: This concert is going to be amazing! :)))

She smiled, closing out the text to open up her music so she could rock out to Firewalk all the way to her destination.

Author's end note: CHAPTER FOUR. Things get crazy at the concert in Chapter 5. You've been warned. ;)


End file.
